Tenba DNA 13 Bag (Features Score: 22.5; Access. Score: 9.3/10)

Overall:

Pros =  26.0 points; Cons =  -3.5 points; The Tenba DNA 13 Bag Features Score = 22.5 points. (Score sheet posted below.) Accessibility score: 9.3 out of 10. (Details in Accessibility section below)

Video:

The Tenba DNA 13 Bag Has Great Genes

As many of you know, I had essentially written off messenger bags as a Crossover Commuter Bag.  The flap made it too difficult to access the main compartment on the fly (you have to hold it out of the way when you are wearing the bag), the design was too casual looking for business, and the bags usually lacked structure that would allow them to stand upright on their own.  Then I discovered a few, rare messenger bags that eliminated all of these issues.    The Tenba DNA 13 bag is one such bag.

One of the key elements of the DNA 13 is that it is a camera bag wrapped inside a messenger bag.  This means that it comes with a foam-padded, divided camera insert (first photo below).  Because of an insert's inherent stiffness, beyond providing protection for your camera equipment, it gives even the floppiest bag significant structure. As a result, with its insert in place, the DNA 13 will stand on its own.  As in, a small child could stand on it without the bag collapsing. What is most unusual, however, is that this bag can stand on its own even WITHOUT the insert (it is removable).

Here is the bag with the insert in place.  Solid and stable, as expected:

Here it is, still standing firmly, without the insert in place (the insert can be seen to the bag's left):

A bag that can stand on its own makes it easier to load, easier to access items, and easier to put down on the front passenger seat without it falling over into the foot well.  In fact, I simply cannot deal with a bag that cannot stand on its own. 

The only bad thing: it makes the bag too stiff to wrap around you when wearing it.  As a result, the load does feel heavier when a small point or line of the bag is pressing against your back or hip.  Because I do not need to carry much photo gear, I chose to replace the large "full system" insert provided by Tenba with a much more compact insert:

This insert is about one half the volume of the Tenba insert.  It is made by Timbuk2 and is designed to fit in their extra small messenger bags.  These leaves a lot more room for the other stuff I carry.  As a result, all of the images that follow show the DNA 13 with this Timbuk2 insert in place.  With that as an introduction, lets take a look at...

The Good Stuff

1.  This bag has a wide base and yet does not look too big.  It can carry all of my essentials with ease with room to spare.   

2. The bag looks clean, sleek, and professional (see lead photo).  I have no problem bringing this into a meeting with the Board of Trustees.  The material is tougher feeling than the polyester material that makes up the Patagonia and STM bags, yet is smooth like the Patagonia and STM polyester so it will not pill my clothing.  It is stiffer than a polyester weave but not as stiff as a 500D or 1000D Cordura (which will pill clothing after a single day's use).  Frankly, it is a perfect compromise of both materials.

3. The zipper on the top of the flap allows you to get access to the main compartment with having to remove the flap.  Unzipping it gives you nearly complete access to the main compartment.  Also, because of the stiffness of the bag and the open design of the front pockets under the flap, you can EASILY access items in these pockets through the opening created by this top zipper:

I wish that all messenger bags had this design as it would essentially allow them all to serve as soft-sided brief cases (see my article about this here).

4.  There are THREE separate organizer panels.  For an OCD person like me, this is a dream.  The first one is in the back zippered pocket (first photo), the second one is along the front wall of the main compartment (second photo), and third one is the set of pockets just behind the flap (third photo).

5.  There are more pockets than I have items to put into these pockets.  It is really amazing.  See the video for a tour of all the pockets.  There are even two slash pockets on the camera insert that I do not use.  

6.  Though this could be included in #5, it is such a rarity, that I need to mention this separately.  There are two large (wide and deep), stretchy water bottle pockets on the sides of the bag that can easily fit a 750 mL water bottle.  

7.  The magnetic latches on the bag are not only cool to use, but they work well.  You can drop them on the peg and they will lock in place.  They will not come off unless you slide them to the left (as indicated by the removable sticker seen below).

8. The bottom of the bags is made of a super tough, waterproof material.  I am not sure if the seams are sealed, because the bag is fully lined with a light grey, smooth ripstop nylon.  My guess is that Tenba has paid such attention to detail that the seams are, indeed, sealed. Notice, too, how wide and flat this base it.  It contributes to this bag being able to stand on its own so easily.

9. There is a slot for an ID or a key card right under the front flap.  You could bring the bag up to a proximity sensor without removing your key card.  This is really handy in my case where I access to campus building is via key cards. (See the video to see the location of this pocket.)

10.  There are two handy pockets on the front flap.  One of them seems to be perfectly designed for my sunglasses while the other seems perfectly designed for my wallet.  Two items to which I need fast and constant access.

11.  In most bags, the pens slots are located in the dead center of the organizer panel.  In the DNA 13, the location of the two pen slots on the front organizer panel (under that flap) are on the extreme sides of the bag.  This allows you to get access to your pen (or stylus) without having to unclip, un-velcro, or unzip the bag to get a pen.  I am not sure that Tenba did this on purpose, but if they did, they have some brilliant designers on staff.  Brilliant!

The Stuff That I Will Never Use, But You Might

1.  Tenba includes a rain cover (see photo below - it's inside that pouch).  It is black on one side and silver on the other.  If it is going to rain, I usually need to keep more than just my bag dry.  In this way, an umbrella is my rain cover of choice.  If I am hiking, I use a backpack, not this bag.

2.  Tenba includes a stabilizing strap that connect between the bottom corner of the bag to a fastex buckle that slides up and down along the shoulder strap (seen at the bottom of the photo above).  If I was a bike messenger, this would be handy.  I'm a high school teacher who walks more than bicycles on campus. 

3.  As I said in the opening, Tenba includes a camera insert that is big.  It can hold up to four lenses and body.  I only need to carry a camera body and one or two lenses on a daily basis.

The Not So Good Stuff

1.  Velcro.  I hate it.  Tenba has such quick acting latches so I am not sure why they feel the need to also include velcro.  If you are a bike messenger, then maybe the velcro could be handy for speed and additional security, but if you are a bike messenger, I really do not think you are looking at this bag.  I plan to take a seam ripper to those patches of "hook" velcro under the flap (see below).

2.  The handle is not centrally located front to back on the bag.  As a result, when you carry the bag by this handle (which I do all the time), the bottom edge of the bag will hit your knee as shown in the photo below:

    

That's not good.  If only Tenba has moved this a mere two more inches toward the front!  Grr.

3. If the bag is full, it is near impossible to remove the file folders from the padded sleeve (designed for a 13 inch laptop) through the top flap zipper.  Actually, you COULD remove them, but it would bend and potentially damage the contents of the folder when you yank them out.  Forget about trying to remove a laptop when the bag is full.  It would be MUCH easier to unlatch the flap in that case.  Even better, Tenba should have added an external laptop pocket.

Accessibility:

A bag's accessibility is rated on a 1 - 10 scale (10 = most).  Three major compartments are judged.  The accessibility scores for this bag:

Organizer pocket = 10.  This bag has organizer panels in several places.  There is an panel of organizer pockets inside the zippered rear pocket, a panel of organizer pockets just under that flap (accessible through the top zipper), and a panel of pockets on the inside wall of the main compartment (accessible through the top zipper).  I call each of these organizer panels because of the number and variety of the pocket.  Because all of them are a single zipper away from easy access, they get a perfect score.

Main compartment = 9. The bag has a flap, but it also has a top of flap zipper that gives you nearly equivalent access to the main compartment as if you pulled off the flap.  It's not as good as unlatching and un-velcro-ing the flap, but it is close.

Laptop/tablet compartment = 9. There is no external laptop/tablet access. You need to go into the main compartment to access your tablet and, while you can easily grab your tablet through the top flap zipper opening, you would not be able to get to a 13 inch laptop (if the bag is filled) nearly as easily.  It's not terrible, but it could be better with an external, tablet/laptop dedicated compartment.

Accessibility Score: 9.3 out of 10.

Other Photos

Score Sheet:

Item	Points +	This Bag	Notes
Made with Cordura or similar nylon material	2	2
Straight stitching, doubled in high stress zones, taped seams - well put together	1	1
Made with soft polyester making it flexible, quiet, gentle on clothing	2	0.5	flexible, gentle, but loud
Stout zippers, large pulls, and hardware	1	0.5
Reinforced bottom for durability and/or weather resistance	1	1
Compression straps to slim bag	0.5
Large external water bottle pockets	2	2
Separate, external access to laptop/tablet compartment	3
Separate iPad pocket	3	3
Fleece-lined external pocket for eyeglasses or phone	3
External pocket for eyeglasses or phone	2	2
Large rounded or paddded handle	1	1
Handle centrally placed (front to back)	0.5
Multitude of pockets for organization	2	2
Open slide in pocket for file folders (internal)	2
Open slide in pocket for file folders (external)	2	2
Ability to slide over handle of rolling luggage	1	1
Laptop section that is TSA friendly (opens up without laptop removal)	1
Flat bottom and perpendicular sides allow bag to stand on own	2	2
Organizer panel within an outer pocket to allow to easy access	1	1
A dedicated cell-phone pocket (padded, lined)	1
A dedicated cell-phone pocket (padded, lined) that is large enough to fit an iPhone 6	0.5
Large padded shoulder pad with sticky coating	1	1
No Velcro used to keep flap closed (quiet and professional)	2		can access w/o using Velcro
Xtra bright inner lining allowing you to see items easily	2
Light inner lining allowing you to see items easily	1	1
Stiff build that maintains the pack's structure when loading/placing	2	2
Outer lashing points for attaching accessories	1	1	two on back
	Total	26
Item	Points -	This Bag	Notes
Soft material that will not wear as well as nylon	-1
Simple handle that digs into hand	-0.5
Cannot stay upright due to design	-3
Tips forward when sitting - unstable	-1
No fleece lining in outside pocket for glasses	-1	-1
No fleece lining in the laptop or tablet pockets	-0.5
No pass through for attaching to rolling luggage	-1
No dedicated tablet pocket	-2
No external pocket for glasses, phone	-1
No flap for weatherproofing	-1
No external pocket for holding a water bottle	-1
No lash points	-0.5
Handle in middle prevents easily hanging bag on hook	-0.5
Poor hardware choice or design (small zippers, placement of compression straps, etc.)	-1
Lack of reinforced bottom allow for excess wear and poor weatherproofing	-1
Black interior making it hard to see item in the bottom of bag	-1
No open file folder pocket	-2
Velcro closure for main flap (loud and unnecessary)	-2	-2
No strap or buckle to hold laptop in pocket if in main compartment	-1
The dedicated cell phone pocket will only fit a small phone	-0.5
Thin or nonexistent shoulder pad	-1
Handle is located in such a way that picking up the bag kicks it into your knee	-0.5	-0.5
Deep zipper covers that impede opening	-2
	Total	-3.5